Journal
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Volume 182, Issue 3, Pages 988-992Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1086/315762
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Funding
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND MUSCULOSKELETAL AND SKIN DISEASES [P50AR039162] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NIAID NIH HHS [AI07217] Funding Source: Medline
- NIAMS NIH HHS [AR39162] Funding Source: Medline
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Interleukin (IL)-12 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 regulate the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in animal models of malaria. Since the cytokine balance may be an important determinant of whether a protective or a pathogenic immune response develops, plasma cytokine ratios were examined in Gabonese children with various degrees of malarial severity. Severe disease was characterized by high-density parasitemia and severe anemia. IL-12 and TGF-beta 1 were significantly lower, whereas tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and IL-10 were significantly higher in children with severe malaria. The ratios of TGF-beta 1/IL-12 and IL-10/IL-12 were significantly higher in the severe, compared with the mild, malaria group. In contrast, ratios of TGF-beta 1/TNF-alpha and IL-10/TNF-alpha were significantly lower in the severe malaria group. These results suggest that the inflammatory cascade in severe malaria is characterized by suppression of the protective effects of TGF-beta 1 and IL-12, and that overproduction of TNF-alpha may promote deleterious effects, such as severe anemia.
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